Prospect Talent Score

Probability of Success

History

2005-06: Phillips spent the majority of the year playing for the USA U-17 squad. Appearing in 38 games, Phillips posted a record of 21-14-3 with a goals against average of 2.39 and a save percentage of .922. He also recorded one shutout. He played all but one game at the 2006 World U-17 Hockey Challenge where he led Team USA to a silver medal. He was named the tournament's top goaltender. Phillips also appeared in one game with the U-18 squad. He allowed two goals as he picked up the win.

2006-07: Phillips split the season in nets with Josh Unice. In 24 games, Phillips posted a record of 15-5-0-2 with a goals against average of 2.33 and a save percentage of .913. He also had two shutouts. Eleven of his 24 games came against NCAA opponents. Phillips posted a winning record in these games, finishing with a record of 5-4-1 with a goals against average of 3.18 and a save percentage of .886. NHL Central Scouting ranked Phillips as the ninth best NA goalie heading into the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.2007-08: Phillips saw action in five games with the University of Notre Dame. He spent the season backing up Jordan Pearce in goal, and along with junior Tom O’Brien, he gave the Irish one of the top goaltending trios in the country. He went 4-1-0 on the season with a 1.53 goals against average and a .923 save percentage. He recorded one shutout on the season. He made his collegiate debut on Nov. 2 in a 4-1 win over Lake Superior, making 16 saves in the game. His first career shutout came in his third career start, as he made 24 saves in a 7-0 win at Princeton on Dec. 8. He is one of seven former USNTDP alums on the Notre Dame roster along with Pearce, junior Kyle Lawson, fellow sophomores Ian Cole and Teddy Ruth and freshmen Patrick Gaul and Sean Lorenz.

2008-09: Phillips missed the entire season due to a knee injury.

2009-10: Phillips appeared in 10 games as a junior as a back-up to Notre Dame starter Mike Johnson as the Fighting Irish finished ninth in the 12-team CCHA. Phillips was 2-3-3 with 1 shutout and had a 2.47 GAA and .911 save percentage.

2010-11: Phillips played for the Bloomington Prairie Thunder in the CHL, foregoing his senior year at Notre Dame. He appeared in 30 games as a backup to veteran Marco Emond and was 12-7-5 with a 2.38 GAA and .914 save percentage. The Prairie Thunder finished third in the Turner Division and Phillips appeared in three playoff games and was 0-2 with a 3.08 GAA and .894 save percentage.

Future

I have had some questions about why I`m not mentioning players like Jason Williams, Yuri Butsayev and so on in my articles. Therefore, here is an update on “all youngsters” who are playing with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks and Detroit Red Wings.

Czech giant defenseman Jiri Fischer is improving and getting more ice time for every game that passes. He is playing great right now, logging on a bit over 20 minutes a game while playing a strong defensive game. He has been a regular on the second penalty killing unit all year long which has helped his development. The only minus is that he is not putting up offensive numbers, mainly due to the lack of PP time. I think that Mr. Bowman should give this kid some PP time to develop his offensive game and become more of a two-way defenseman.

Future: Jiri Fischer has a bright future ahead of him in Detroit. If he continues to develop at this pace he should become the best defenseman and the corner stone on the team in 4-5 years. With some PP time he could be a very good two-way defenseman in the NHL.

The June 1st deadline to sign CHL players drafted in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft is fast approaching. The Montréal Canadiens head into this year’s deadline with only two players directly affected by the previously mentioned cut-off date.

Josef Balej (3rd round, 78th overall), and Christian Larrivée (4th round, 114th overall) will need to be signed, otherwise the Habs risk losing their NHL rights. Balej is a speedy right winger playing with the WHL’s Portland Winter Hawks, while the lanky Larrivée currently toils for the QMJHL’s Chicoutimi Saguenéens.

Chicoutimi drafted Larrivée third overall in the 1999 QMJHL draft. The Gaspé native had just come off an impressive rookie season with Jonquiere in the Québec Midget AAA league. In 42 games Larrivée managed 62 points (26-36-62) to go along with 10 minutes in penalties.

The 6’3″, 195-lbs forward enjoyed a moderately successful QMJHL rookie season (99-00), finishing with 23 points (8-15-23) through 69 games. That said, it was his size, and offensive potential that initially drew Habs’ scouts to the then center. He’s a left-handed shot who protects the puck well. He has a quick release, rather than an overtly powerful shot.

Claude Ruel, who’s still involved in the Habs’ player development system once told Larrivée that he uses his size and speed well, and must continue to shoot as often as possible. “Claude Ruel has a great eye for what happens on the ice,” Larrivée told Chicoutimi’s Le Quotidien. “I listen to him as often as possible. He knows the game so well. He’s there to he Read more»

At the beginning of Tuesday night’s game at home against the Vancouver Giants the Kootenay were just three points back of the B.C. Division leading

Kamloops Blazers with three games to play in the regular season. At the end of the night Kootenay was just a point back of the Blazers with only two games left for each. Just over a week ago the Blazers were nine points up on the ICE, had a game in hand and had the division pennant all but hanging in the rafters of SportMart Place.

What a difference a week makes.

While the Blazers were in the process of losing their fourth straight to a Calgary Hitmen club that has now clinched a playoff spot in the WHL’s Central Division, the Kootenay ICE were having difficulty dispensing a pesky Vancouver Giant club that didn’t want to go away quietly. For the Giants the game was played purely for points in the pride column. Forced out of the playoff picture by a loss against the Seattle Thunderbirds last Friday, players on the coastal expansion squad were playing for jobs on the club next fall. That fact didn’t deter the club from being a thorn in the side of the ICE all night long. Being down by score of 2-0 and 4-1 and Kootenay poised to put them away for good, the Giants made things interesting and were down by only a 4-3 count with less than two minutes to play in the third frame before Kootenay put it out of reach with a 6-3 verdict on goals that included a fade-away lob-shot by Cole Fischer that fooled Giant netminder Jordan McLaughlin and an empty-net marker by Nigel Dawes.

The Halifax Mooseheads have been skating in front of their hometown crowd in the Halifax Metro Centre. Moosemaniacs have seen the offensive exploits of players like Alex Tanguay, who registered 47 goals in 51 games in 98-99. Others saw Ladislav Nagy put up 71 goals and 126 points in 63 games in that same 98-99 season. Many saw Ramzi Abid blaze onto the scene from Acadie-Bathurst, to go onto his best junior season with 158 points in 72 games. This season, the fans of the Halifax Mooseheads are seeing a different breed of potential superstar in the making; Louis Mandeville.

Mandeville burst onto the scene during the 2000-2001 season when his current junior team, the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, dealt him to the Mooseheads. Since that trade, his game has shown nothing but improvement. He completed the season with 22 points in 28 games for Halifax, after registering only 17 points in 42 games with the Huskies. But the story of Louis Mandeville starts much earlier than that.

After a hugely successful year with Col. Lemoyne in Midget, Louis realized that he could have a shot at the NHL somewhere down the road.

“Probably in Midget AAA I had a really good season,” said Louis, “People were talkin’ about me so I thought about it a bit at that time.”

People continued to talk as Mandeville made the jump for Midget hockey into Major Junior with Rouyn-Noranda, however, deciding between Major Junior and College hockey was one that Mandeville was forced to ponder.

Mandeville could have either taken the Major Junior route, or through t Read more»